[Milsurplus] Milsurplus Radiation

[David I. Emery]

On Thu, Aug 03, 2006 at 06:31:36PM -0500, windy10605 at juno.com wrote:
> just don't know how sensitive those sensors are today, especially since
> they asked me if I had a stress test recently (they inject some mildly
> radioactive stuff into your veins ?). I told them "Yes, I'm having it
> now" .........they didn't think that was funny, no humor at all out
> there.

	I've had a SPECT stress test and checked myself immediately
after it with an old 60s yellow CD V-700 Geiger counter and man was I
radioactive (the one and only time in my life I could actually be said
to have a hot bod).   I could pick up the radiation from my body about
20 feet away with the counter - which is hardly a super sensitive modern
detector device - and I read well over 100 mr/hr with the probe a few
inches from my chest for almost a day.

	The radioactivity was pretty short lived, it only took about 4 or
5 days for it to decline to pretty close to undetectable even with the GM
tube probe right on my chest.   Part of this is the natural decay of
the isotopes used which have very short half lives (hours) and part was
the natural process of elimination of the compounds involved (I'm sure
the john in my house was mildly radioactive for a while).

	So I can imagine a variety of overt and covert detectors would
get quite strong readings from someone just tested (and yes, they do
inject radioisotope labeled compounds directly into ones veins and image
the perfusion of the heart muscle by scanning it with a directional detector
array and building a three dimensional image of areas with good blood flow
and bad...).


-- 
   Dave Emery N1PRE,  die at dieconsulting.com  DIE Consulting, Weston, Mass 02493
"An empty zombie mind with a forlorn barely readable weatherbeaten
'For Rent' sign still vainly flapping outside on the weed encrusted pole - in 
celebration of what could have been, but wasn't and is not to be now either."